August 17, 2014

Herb Booth, University of Texas, Arlington

A computer science and engineering associate professor and her doctoral student graduate are using a genetic computer network inference model that eventually could predict whether a person will suffer from bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or another mental illness.

The findings are detailed in the paper Inference of SNP-Gene Regulatory Networks by Integrating Gene Expressions and Genetic Perturbations, which was published in the June edition of Biomed Research International. The principal investigators were Jean Gao, an associate professor of computer science and engineering, and Dong-Chul Kim, who recently earned his doctorate in computer science and engineering from UT Arlington.

We looked for the differences between our genetic computer network and the brain patterns of 130 patients from the University of Illinois, Gao said. This work could lead to earlier diagnosis in the future and treatment for those patients suffering from bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Early diagnosis allows doctors to provide timely treatments that may speed up aid to help affected patients.

The UT Arlington researchers teamed with Jiao Wang of the Beijing Genomics Institute at Wuhan, China; and Chunyu Liu, visiting associate professor at the University of Illinois Department of Psychiatry, on the project.

Gao said the findings also could lead to more individualized drug therapies for those patients in the early stages of mental illnesses.

Our work will allow doctors to analyze a patients genetic pattern and apply the appropriate levels of personalized therapy based on patient-specific data, Gao said.

One key to the research is designing single nucleotide polymorphism or SNP networks, researchers said.

SNPs are regulators of genes, said Kim, who joins the University of Texas-Pan American this fall as an assistant professor. Those SNPs visualize how individual genes will act. It gives us more of a complete picture.

See the original post:
UT Arlington Research Team's Work Could Lead To Earlier Diagnosis, Treatment Of Mental Diseases

5 minutes ago Jarin1 inhibits the enzyme JAR1 by displacing the natural substrate, Jasmonoyl-isoleucine (JA-Ile), from its binding site. Both substances overlap, so that JAR1 can no longer fulfil its tasks. The left panel shows an overview of the entire enzyme; the right panel a view into the active centre. Credit: Corey S. Westfall, Washington University, St. Louis

Researchers trying to get new information about the metabolism of plants can switch off individual genes and study the resulting changes. However, Erich Kombrink from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne and Markus Kaiser from the University of Duisburg-Essen adopt a different approach. They identify small molecules that block specific components of the metabolic process like brake pads and prevent the downstream reactions. In their search for these molecules, they use a biological selection process involving intact plants. This strategy has long been exploited in drug research. Its application in the plant sciences, however, is relatively new.

Kombrink, Kaiser and their colleagues have identified a molecule that interferes with the effect of jasmonic acid. This plant hormone influences flower formation, root growth, defence against herbivores and infections, wound healing, ageing of plants, and much more.

Although many questions about plant metabolism can be answered through targeted gene mutations, the method has its limits. This is also demonstrated in the case of jasmonic acid and its derivatives. So far, only one signalling chain has been discovered, but this cannot explain the wide-ranging effect of this plant hormone. Therefore, other hitherto undiscovered signalling paths and action mechanisms must exist. To find out more about them, Kombrink and Kaiser have adopted an approach that is similar to one used in medicine. Their strategy is based on the blocking of important metabolic pathways using low molecular weight compounds, which are easily assimilated by the plant. While in medical therapy such compounds are assimilated through the blood, in the plant they are introduced through the root.

The scientists embarked on their search with a screening of Arabidopsis thaliana and treating the plants with compounds in such a way that the desired selection could be identified by a conspicuous trait. Of the 1728 substances from a commercial compound library tested 16 emerged as inhibitors. This number was further reduced using more selective tests. In the end, only one substance turned out to be a specific inhibitor of the jasmonic acid signalling pathway and was given the name Jarin-1. "In terms of its basic structure, the substance is a plant alkaloid, whose two amino groups can carry different side chains," Kombrink explains. "However, its effect is associated with a particular side chain in one of the positions. Other side chains impair the activity of the substance. We also deliberately synthesised it once again to be certain that we had understood its chemical structure correctly."

The scientists also looked for the target of the newly discovered inhibitor. The known signalling chain starts with the conjugation of the jasmonic acid with the amino acid isoleucine by an enzyme called JAR1. The resulting pair leads to the expression following various detours of the genes necessary for the relevant effect of the jasmonic acid. Kombrink and Kaiser were able to show that JAR1 is the target of the newly discovered inhibitor. Due to the inhibition, the jasmonic acid conjugated with isoleucine does no longer accumulate in the cell. As a result genes are not expressed because the jasmonic acidisoleucine pair no longer activates the genes' starting point.

The Jarin-1 inhibitor identified by Kombrink and Kaiser not only works in Arabidopsis but also in Cardamine hirsuta or hairy bittercress. "So we are obviously dealing with a broadly applicable molecule," comments Kombrink. Under the effect of the inhibitor, the plants show the same features as they do following the targeted mutation of genes from the jasmonic acid signalling pathway.

The scientists also investigated the exact location where the molecule takes effect. They succeeded in demonstrating that it binds to the active centre of JAR1 and inhibits the natural substrate. "Our molecule is not a classical competitive inhibitor," says Kombrink. "But its effect can be explained, at least in parts, by displacement of the substrate from its binding site."

Small molecules are interesting new tools for plant research. Through their work, the researchers show how it is possible to search for them systematically and to identify their molecular mode of action.

Explore further: Signalling pathway links local and systemic plant immunity

See the original post here:
Researchers block plant hormone: Small molecule inhibits jasmonic acid, helps to explain its effects

By Shane Huntington

Neuropsychiatrist Prof Chris Pantelis and neural engineering researcher Prof Stan Skafidas discuss the potential for the use of genetics to improve the diagnosis of autism.

SHANE HUNTINGTON I'm Dr Shane Huntington. Thanks for joining us. Human beings are social animals. We rely on language and the subtle social cues that accompany our words to communicate with each other. But for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD for short, the simple acts of communicating and interacting with others in a social setting can be baffling or even terrifying. Currently ASD diagnosis is complex. Psychological assessments and interviews are combined with behavioural observations by parents and teachers and a multitude of other mental disorders need to be carefully ruled out. But we know from twin studies that there's a genetic component to ASD, so why don't we have a genetic test for this condition? Are behavioural observations really the best we can do for desperate parents seeking answers for the challenging behaviour in their children? Surely our extraordinary advances in genetics hint at effective DNA based tests. Today on Up Close we speak to a neuropsychiatrist and an electrical engineer about how we might one day test for ASD based on our genetics. Chris Pantelis is Professor of Neuropsychiatry and Scientific Director of the Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre at the University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health. Stan Skafidas is Professor of Neural Engineering at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering; leads the Melbourne School of Engineering's research in nanoelectronics and is the Director of the Centre for Neural Engineering. Welcome to Up Close Stan and Chris.

STAN SKAFIDAS Thank you.

CHRIS PANTELIS Thank you.

SHANE HUNTINGTON Chris, I might start with you. What sorts of tests are currently available to diagnose someone with Autism Spectrum Disorder?

CHRISTOS PANTELIS So the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder relies very much on clinical observation. It requires careful considered observation of behaviour, social interaction and particularly looking at language and communication; also observations related to stereotype, the repetitive behaviours that many of these children manifest. The disorder is diagnosed early. The onset is before the age of three and it's the observation that children are not engaging, not socialising appropriately, that they're delayed in their language and that they may have stereotyped or repetitive behaviours. So very much the diagnosis is based on clinical observation at this point in time. Now as you rightly point out it is clear that there is a genetic component to this disorder. It runs in families. Those twins that are monozygotic have a high concordance, which means that if one twin has the disorder there's a high likelihood that the co-twin is also affected. This means that we should be able to examine the genetics of this disorder and see if we can come up with a test if you like that might help us in our clinical diagnosis.

SHANE HUNTINGTON You mentioned we can look at children as young as three. It would seem difficult that you'd be able to extract the sort of behavioural anomalies that you're talking about at that age, given the wide variety of developmental speeds that we find out kids growing up with. Now some kids learn language very quick, others don't. How successful is it in terms of determining if a child is positive at age three?

CHRISTOS PANTELIS Again a very good and I think the important thing here is that one needs to take account of the trajectory of development of any individual child. And often clinicians looking at these children will assess them over a lengthy period of time. The diagnosis might be suspected but may not be confirmed for a considerable period of time, perhaps a number of years. It depends on the severity of the presentation, the range of symptoms and how they're developing.

SHANE HUNTINGTON You mentioned the possibility of genetic testing. It would seem that we have a genetic test for every second illness at the moment. There are a lot of new ones around, the most commonly known ones such as those for breast cancer and so forth. There is definitely a genetic component to this as you say from twin studies. Why is it that we don't have a genetics test at this point for autism?

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Screening along the spectrum: The search for a genetic test for autism

A computer science and engineering associate professor and her doctoral student graduate are using a genetic computer network inference model that eventually could predict whether a person will suffer from bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or another mental illness.

The findings are detailed in the paper "Inference of SNP-Gene Regulatory Networks by Integrating Gene Expressions and Genetic Perturbations," which was published in the June edition of Biomed Research International. The principal investigators were Jean Gao, an associate professor of computer science and engineering, and Dong-Chul Kim, who recently earned his doctorate in computer science and engineering from UT Arlington.

"We looked for the differences between our genetic computer network and the brain patterns of 130 patients from the University of Illinois," Gao said. "This work could lead to earlier diagnosis in the future and treatment for those patients suffering from bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Early diagnosis allows doctors to provide timely treatments that may speed up aid to help affected patients."

The UT Arlington researchers teamed with Jiao Wang of the Beijing Genomics Institute at Wuhan, China; and Chunyu Liu, visiting associate professor at the University of Illinois Department of Psychiatry, on the project.

Gao said the findings also could lead to more individualized drug therapies for those patients in the early stages of mental illnesses.

"Our work will allow doctors to analyze a patient's genetic pattern and apply the appropriate levels of personalized therapy based on patient-specific data," Gao said.

One key to the research is designing single nucleotide polymorphism or SNP networks, researchers said.

"SNPs are regulators of genes," said Kim, who joins the University of Texas-Pan American this fall as an assistant professor. "Those SNPs visualize how individual genes will act. It gives us more of a complete picture."

The paper is a culmination of four years of work.

Khosrow Behbehani, dean of the College of Engineering, said the research merges the power of computer science and engineering, psychology and genetics.

See the original post here:
Earlier diagnosis, treatment of mental illness? Genetic computer network inference model

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

13-Aug-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ryan kryan@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, August 13, 2014About 1 in 5 Medicare patients is discharged from hospice care alive, whether due to patients' informed choice, a change in their condition, or inappropriate actions by the hospice to save on hospitalization costs related to terminal illness. How live discharge rates differ between hospice programs and geographic regions, and when those rates should raise red flags are among the issues explored in the article "A National Study of Live Discharges from Hospice" , published in Journal of Palliative Medicine, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers/. The article is available free on the Journal of Palliative Medicine website until September 13, 2014.

Joan M. Teno, MD, Pedro Gozalo, PhD, and Vincent Mor, PhD, Brown University School of Public Health (Providence, RI), and Michael Plotzke, PhD, Abt Associates (Cambridge, MA), examined all of the Medicare hospice discharges in the U.S. between January 1 to December 31, 2010. For the patients discharged alive, they gathered data on survival for up to 6 months, subsequent hospitalizations, and Medicare payments during the 30 days after live hospice discharge. The authors provide details on the substantial variation they found in the rates of live discharges across states and between individual hospices, in particular comparing not-for-profit to for-profit hospice programs and more mature programs versus those that had been in operation for 5 years or less.

"The phenomenon of hospice patients 'graduating' because they get better with hospice care is well known. But, all patients discharged days to weeks before death is very strange," says Charles F. von Gunten, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Palliative Medicine and Vice President, Medical Affairs, Hospice and Palliative Medicine for OhioHealth (Columbus, OH).

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Journal of Palliative Medicine is the official journal of the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) and an official journal of the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association.

About the Journal

Journal of Palliative Medicine, published monthly in print and online, is an interdisciplinary journal that reports on the clinical, educational, legal, and ethical aspects of care for seriously ill and dying patients. The Journal includes coverage of the latest developments in drug and non-drug treatments for patients with life-threatening diseases including cancer, AIDS, cardiac disease; pulmonary, neurological, and respiratory conditions; and other diseases. The journal reports on the development of palliative care programs around the United States and the world, and on innovations in palliative care education. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Palliative Medicine website.

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Are patients being discharged from hospice care to save money?

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

11-Aug-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ryan kryan@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, August 11, 2014 -- Nearly 6% of all children and teens in the U.S. are severely obese, and the prevalence of severe obesity is increasing faster than that of moderate obesity or overweight. This is an alarming trend as about 90% of these youths will grow up to be obese adults. The serious health problems associated with severe obesity and the poor long-term prognosis and quality of life projected for these children and teens demand more serious consideration of safe and effective treatment options that go beyond diet and lifestyle modifications, as proposed in an Editorial published in Childhood Obesity, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Childhood Obesity website at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/chi.2014.1041 until September 12, 2014.

In "Pediatric Severe Obesity: Time to Establish Serious Treatments for a Serious Disease," Stephen R. Daniels, MD, PhD, University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children's Hospital Colorado (Aurora), and Aaron S. Kelly, PhD, University of Minnesota Medical School and Children's Hospital (Minneapolis), note that while healthy lifestyle changes made during childhood may be quite helpful in weight reduction, these less intensive types of approaches tend to be less effective in treating severely obese teenagers. According to the authors, better access to specialty medical weight management programs, pharmacotherapy, and weight loss surgery are all important components of a more comprehensive strategy to combat severe obesity among teens.

"Drs. Daniels and Kelly are performing a vital service by directing our attention to this serious and increasingly prevalent problem," says David L. Katz, MD, MPH, Editor-in-Chief of Childhood Obesity and Director, Yale University Prevention Research Center. "We need commensurately serious solutions which I believe can include lifestyle interventions, but only of adequate scope and intensity. Just as lifestyle has been proven a worthy alternative to coronary bypass surgery, our sons and daughters deserve alternatives to bariatric surgery in combating this problem that our culture has handed them."

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About the Journal

Childhood Obesity is a bimonthly journal, published in print and online, and the journal of record for all aspects of communication on the broad spectrum of issues and strategies related to weight management and obesity prevention in children and adolescents. The Journal includes peer-reviewed articles documenting cutting-edge research and clinical studies, opinion pieces and roundtable discussions, profiles of successful programs and interventions, and updates on task force recommendations, global initiatives, and policy platforms. It reports on news and developments in science and medicine, features programs and initiatives developed in the public and private sector, and includes a Literature Watch. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Childhood Obesity website at http://www.liebertpub.com/chi.

About the Publisher

Read more from the original source:
More intensive interventions needed to combat severe obesity in teens

Jeffrey Smith #39;s #39;challenge #39; to Neil deGrasse Tyson EVISCERATED (part 2)
On August 5th, Jeffrey Smith, the creator of the #39;Institute for Responsible Technology #39; issued a challenge to Neil deGrasse Tyson. In it, he displays a TITANIC lack of knowledge on the topic...

By: Jeff Holiday

See the article here:
Jeffrey Smith's 'challenge' to Neil deGrasse Tyson EVISCERATED (part 2) - Video

Even as the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) decided to constitute a sub-committee to review the toxicology data generated by two applicants for genetically modified brinjal, biologist and Padma Bhushan award winner Dr. Pushpa M. Bhargava has questioned the guidelines of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) on transgenic crops.

Dr. Bhargava and others had asked for the raw data on toxicity studies on rats using transgenic brinjal which were carried out by Dr. Sesikeran, former Director of National Institute of Nutrition at Hyderabad. He found statistically quite significant differences between rats fed on Bt Brinjal and those fed on a normal meal in respect of several important parameters, said Dr. Bhargava.

However, Dr. Sesikeran had said that as all the values (both of the control and of the experimental animals) fell within the normal range of variation, the differences were not significant, and that there was no need to repeat the experiment.

Our point was that if on repetition the same differences are found again, they are bound to be significant, Dr. Bhargava pointed out. Further, he used only 20 animals (10 female and 10 male) in both experimental and the control groups which is the minimum number for such tests. Dr. Sesikeran must explain why only a minimum number was used, he said.

In a letter to Dr. Ranjini Warrier, member secretary, GEAC, on July 23, Dr. Bhargava, who was responding to the two e-mails of July 20 from Dr. Sesikeran to all the members of GEAC, said, According to Dr. Sesikeran, DBT guidelines of 2008 say the following in regard to Interpretation of results of safety studies: The design and analysis of the study should be kept as simple as possible, avoiding unnecessarily complex, sophisticated statistical techniques. If the design is simple, the statistics are likely to give straightforward results. Non-statistical knowledge must be applied in study design and proper interpretation of the biological significance of the results. Just because two treatments are statistically significantly different does not mean that the difference is large enough to have any biological importance or any practical significance.

Dr. Bhargava said he would like to know which international body endorsed this, as scientifically it does not make any sense. He said he didnt understand what that meant and sought a clarification. The GEAC meets next in August.

Read this article:
Pushpa Bhargava questions DBT guidelines on transgenic crops

Jeffrey Smith #39;s #39;challenge #39; to Neil deGrasse Tyson EVISCERATED (part 1)
On August 5th, Jeffrey Smith, the creator of the #39;Institute for Responsible Technology #39; issued a challenge to Neil deGrasse Tyson. In it, he displays a TITANIC lack of knowledge on the topic...

By: Jeff Holiday

Visit link:
Jeffrey Smith's 'challenge' to Neil deGrasse Tyson EVISCERATED (part 1) - Video

Some British newspapers have been reporting the imminent harvest of a variety of nutrition-enriched genetically modified (GM) crop in the UK. It is a crop called camelina, also called false flax, a plant that usually grows in the Mediterranean. An institute called Rothamsted Research has tweaked the plant's genes and produced a variety that is full of omega-3 fatty acids, normally found only in oily fish.

Consumption of omega-3 fatty acids is supposed to be beneficial in a number of ways, and so this crop would provide the first real chance for vegetarians to get the vital nutrient through their normal diet. This would be great news for many people, but what is equally important is the fact that GM crops are set to finally break the resistance in Europe.

Despite considerable opposition from various pressure groups, GM crops are slowly advancing in Europe, with regulators relenting in several countries. Two months ago, almost all the environment ministers in Europe - only two countries resisted - decided to let individual countries follow their own course: whether to allow or not allow the cultivation of GM crops.

This will let the pro-GM countries go ahead with their plans, which will probably force the rest to consider GM crop trials and commercial launches. For some time now, Europe is cited as a model - often wrongly - to those around the world to resist commercial cultivation and even research in GM crops.

If Europe cultivates GM crops on a large scale, resistance will slowly reduce in China and African countries, and later in India as well. All these countries have so far seen some resistance against GM crops. China, despite funding GM crop research, has been reluctant to commercialise these widely.

Africa has been uneven in its acceptance, with countries like South Africa being adopters and other countries like Tanzania and Kenya holding out. India commercialised Bt cotton more than a decade ago, but progress of GM crops in the country has been slow since then.

From a scientific viewpoint, genetic engineering is like atomic energy; it depends on how you use it. So while it is difficult to say that all GM crops are bad, there could be situations where they would do some damage, depending on the genes that one chooses to introduce.

Most of the genes being tried now are known to be safe. It is highly unlikely that they will cause damage to our agricultural system, but it is impossible to prove it the other way.

The only option is to put them through trials, and then proceed with caution if they seem to be safe. One shouldn't judge the merit of a gene based on where it came from. We all have bacterial genes in our bodies. Not conducting field trials, as is often advocated in India and some other countries, will backfire at some point.

Sometime in the future, countries that resist GM crops will begin to see their benefits elsewhere, and then face a situation where they have to adopt when faced with an agricultural disaster. It is almost certain that humanity will find it difficult to feed everybody by mid-century without some serious technological advances.

View post:
Genetically modified crops: Ignoring genetic engineering at our own peril

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

7-Aug-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ryan kryan@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

Numerous risk factors are believed to contribute to the development of autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, and new research is focusing on the role that bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract as well as other cell stress-related chemical signals could have in stimulating inflammation in the central nervous system and activating immunostimulatory cytokines. Two comprehensive Review articles are part of a focus on "Cytokines in Neuroinflammation and Immunity" in a special issue of Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research (JICR), a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The articles are available free on the JICR website.

Kiel Telesford and Lloyd Kasper, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth University (Lebanon, NH) and Javier Ochoa-Repraz, University of California-Santa Barbara, describe three key characteristics of the gut microbiome related to immune cell activity and cytokine production that may be relevant to susceptibility to and treatment of autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis. In the article "Gut Commensalism, Cytokines, and Central Nervous System Demyelination," the authors note that our understanding of the biology of the gut microbiome and the immunoregulatory potential of bacteria and parasites in the gut is still in its infancy.

In the Review article "Interferons, Signal Transduction Pathways, and the Central Nervous System," Shreeram Nallar and Dhan Kalvakolanu, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, explore in detail the latest research pointing to the role of cytokines, and in particular interferons, in contributing to the development of diseases affecting the central nervous system. The authors discuss the potential effects of either an excess or lack of interferons, the inflammatory effects of cytokines, and new therapeutic research strategies.

"The communications between the microbial community in the gut and the host immune system is turning out to be remarkably complex and is likely to impact on many aspects of both health and disease," says Editor-in-Chief Thomas A. Hamilton, PhD, Chairman, Department of Immunology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio.

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About the Journal

Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research (JICR), led by Editors-in-Chief Ganes C. Sen, PhD, Chairman, Department of Molecular Genetics, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio, and Thomas A. Hamilton, PhD, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly online with Open Access options and in print that covers all aspects of interferons and cytokines from basic science to clinical applications. JICR, celebrating 35 years of publication in 2015, is an official journal of the International Cytokine & Interferon Society. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the JICR website.

Link:
Is the gut microbiome a potential cause and therapeutic target for autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis?

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

7-Aug-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ryan kryan@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, August 7, 2014In vitro toxicity testing is rapidly being adopted in the pharmaceutical, chemical, and cosmetics industries, for example, as an alternative to animal studies to predict adverse health effects of drugs and personal care products and the health consequences of environmental exposures. An insightful Roundtable Discussion focused on how to apply these novel toxicology models to everyday hazard prediction, risk assessment, and decision making in industry is published in the preview issue of the new journal Applied In Vitro Toxicology, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Applied In Vitro Toxicology website.

In the Roundtable Discussion "Comments on How to Make the New Vision of Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century a Reality," Moderator Jim McKim, Editor-in-Chief of Applied In Vitro Toxicology and Founder and CEO, IONTOX, LLC, challenges the panelists to present a realistic view of how far the field has advanced in implementing the strategy put forth in a National Academy of Sciences report to improve toxicity testing.

Panelists Alan Goldberg, Consulting Editor of the Journal, Nicole Kleinstreuer, ILS/National Toxicology Program Interagency Center for Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods (Research Triangle Park, NC), Francois Busquet, Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (Konstanz, Germany), and Melvin Andersen, The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences (RTP, NC) participate in an interactive discussion on the use of human cell models combined with high-throughput screening methods to test for toxicity, and the complexity of applying adverse outcome pathways (AOPs). The conversation covers topics ranging from policy issues, challenges related to data interpretation and understanding the information gained from in vitro models, the emergence of three-dimensional tissue culture models that integrate cells from multiple human organs, and the different approaches being used to assess risk from high-dose, short-term exposures compared to exposure to lower concentrations of a chemical over longer periods of time.

"Improved analytical technologies and improvements in human tissue models will allow us to change the animal safety testing paradigm," says Jim McKim.

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About the Journal

Applied In Vitro Toxicology is a new peer-reviewed journal providing the latest research on the application of alternative in vitro testing methods for predicting adverse effects in the pharmaceutical, chemical, and personal care industries. Led by Editor-in-Chief James M. McKim, PhD, DABT, IONTOX, LLC, the Journal addresses important issues facing these diverse industries, including regulatory requirements; the reduction, refinement, and replacement of animal testing; new screening methods; evaluation of new cell and tissue models; and the most appropriate methods for assessing safety and satisfying regulatory demands. The Journal is published quarterly online with Open Access options and in print. A sample issue may be viewed on the Applied In Vitro Toxicology website (http://www.liebertpub.com/aivt).

Read more:
Expert insights on in vitro alternatives for drug and chemical toxicity testing

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

6-Aug-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ryan kryan@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, August 6, 2014The difficulty in replicating and directly comparing and confirming the scientific results reported by researchers worldwide who are studying new approaches to treating spinal cord injuries is slowing the translation of important new findings to patient care. A newly proposed reporting standard for spinal cord injury (SCI) experimentation defines the minimum information that is appropriate for modeling an SCI in the research setting, as presented in an article in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available Open Access on the Journal of Neurotrauma website.

In the article, "Minimum Information about a Spinal Cord Injury Experiment: A Proposed Reporting Standard for Spinal Cord Injury Experiments" Vance P. Lemmon and a team of coauthors from University of Miami School of Medicine (Florida), University of California San Francisco, The Ohio State University (Columbus), Indiana University (Indianapolis), University of Kentucky (Lexington), and Niigata University (Japan), representing the MIASCI Consortium, describe how the adoption of uniform reporting standards and the use of common data elements can improve transparency in scientific reporting and facilitate the development of databases of experimental information"computer-readable knowledge repositories."

"This manuscript from many of the leading researchers in the field of spinal cord research should provide uniform databases for researchers to review new findings in this rapidly growing field and promote the successful translation of treatments to the clinic," says W. Dalton Dietrich, PhD, Deputy Editor of Journal of Neurotrauma and Kinetic Concepts Distinguished Chair in Neurosurgery, Professor of Neurological Surgery, Neurology and Cell Biology, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine.

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About the Journal

Journal of Neurotrauma is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published 24 times per year in print and online that focuses on the latest advances in the clinical and laboratory investigation of traumatic brain and spinal cord injury. Emphasis is on the basic pathobiology of injury to the nervous system, and the papers and reviews evaluate preclinical and clinical trials targeted at improving the early management and long-term care and recovery of patients with traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neurotrauma is the official journal of the National Neurotrauma Society and the International Neurotrauma Society. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Neurotrauma website.

About the Publisher

Original post:
New standards proposed for reporting spinal cord injury experiments

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

5-Aug-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ryan kryan@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, August 5, 2014 -- Women who visit Internet pornography sites are at risk of developing cybersex addiction. A comparison of the tendency toward cybersex addiction among heterosexual women who do or do not use Internet pornography and factors predictive of developing cybersex addiction are described in a study published in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking website.

In "Cybersex Addiction in Heterosexual Female Users of Internet Pornography Can Be Explained by Gratification Hypothesis," authors Christian Laier, Jaro Pekal, and Matthias Brand, University of Duisburg-Essen (Duisburg, Germany), and Erwin L. Hahn, Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (Essen, Germany), explore the role of anticipating and receiving sexual gratification in the development of cybersex addiction.

"The authors found that cybersex addiction in the study population of heterosexual female users is similar to that of heterosexual males," says Editor-in-Chief Brenda K. Wiederhold, PhD, MBA, BCB, BCN, Virtual Reality Medical Institute, Brussels, Belgium and Interactive Media Institute, San Diego, California. "Although the study population was only limited to individuals under 30, this helps to advance our understanding of cybersex addiction in females."

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About the Journal

Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly online with Open Access options and in print that explores the psychological and social issues surrounding the Internet and interactive technologies, plus cybertherapy and rehabilitation. Complete tables of contents and a sample issue may be viewed on the Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking website.

About the Publisher

Originally posted here:
What drives cybersex addiction among female internet pornography users?

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

4-Aug-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ryan kryan@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, August 4, 2014 -- Many of the more than 2.5 million men in the U.S. who have received treatment for prostate cancer deal with the often disabling side effects of surgery and radiation and hormonal therapies. To aid in the transition of these patients from specialty to primary care for long-term management of problems such as urinary incontinence and sexual and bowel dysfunction, updated guidelines for prostate cancer survivorship care are published in Journal of Men's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Men's Health website at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/jomh.2014.0026 until September 4, 2014.

Ted Skolarus, MD, MPH led a team of authors from University of Michigan, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center (Ann Arbor), and Michigan State University (East Lansing) in preparing the article "Recommendations for Prostate Cancer Survivorship Care: An Update to the 2009 Michigan Cancer Consortium Guidelines for the Primary Care Management of Prostate Cancer Post-Treatment Sequelae." Based on information gathered from an expert panel and focus groups, additions to the updated guidelines include patient-reported symptoms assessment, self-management strategies for treatment-related side effects, recommendations for involving partners in survivorship care, and new care coordination strategies.

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About the Journal

Journal of Men's Health is the premier peer-reviewed journal published quarterly in print and online that covers all aspects of men's health across the lifespan. The Journal publishes cutting-edge advances in a wide range of diseases and conditions, including diagnostic procedures, therapeutic management strategies, and innovative clinical research in gender-based biology to ensure optimal patient care. The Journal addresses disparities in health and life expectancy between men and women; increased risk factors such as smoking, alcohol abuse, and obesity; higher prevalence of diseases such as heart disease and cancer; and health care in underserved and minority populations. Journal of Men's Health meets the critical imperative for improving the health of men around the globe and ensuring better patient outcomes. Tables of content and a sample issue can be viewed on the Journal of Men's Health website at http://www.liebertpub.com/jmh.

About the Societies

Journal of Men's Health is the official journal of the International Society of Men's Health (ISMH), American Society for Men's Health, Men's Health Society of India, and Foundation for Men's Health. The ISMH is an international, multidisciplinary, worldwide organization, dedicated to the rapidly growing field of gender-specific men's health.

Read the original here:
New recommendations for post-treatment care of prostate cancer survivors

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

1-Aug-2014

Contact: Sophie Mohin smohin@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, August 1, 2014Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals who want to conceive a child may face the same problems as some of their heterosexual and cisgendered peers, such as reduced fertility, but in addition they often face additional physiological and legal challenges to become parents. A comprehensive review of the most recent advances in assisted reproduction options is presented in the article "LGBT Assisted Reproduction: Current Practice and Future Possibilities," published in LGBT Health, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. Cutting-edge research and options likely to be available in the future are also discussed. The article is available free on the LGBT Health website.

A. Evan Eyler, MD, MPH, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington; Samuel C. Pang, MD, Reproductive Science Center of New England, Lexington, MA; and Anderson Clark, PhD, a Reproductive Biologist from Boston, MA, discuss the many medical options available to the LGBT community. The authors provide expert commentary on topics such as gestational surrogacy, in vitro fertilization, donor egg banks, and techniques to preserve future reproductive capability for transgender individuals whose transition plan entails procedures that will, or are likely to, compromise their fertility. The article also explores important economic and legal implications of assisted reproduction.

"In the past, many people in the LGBT communities did not regard reproduction as a realistic option; however, social and scientific progress have changed that," says Editor-in-Chief William Byne, MD, PhD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY. "Clinicians who work with LGBT-identified people, particularly transgender youths and their families, should familiarize themselves with the material covered in this interview. Future options may become available even for transgender youths who undergo pubertal suppression prior to the production of viable gametes."

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About the Journal

Spanning a broad array of disciplines LGBT Health, published quarterly online with Open Access options and in print, brings together the LGBT research, health care, and advocacy communities to address current challenges and improve the health, well-being, and clinical outcomes of LGBT persons. The Journal publishes original research, review articles, clinical reports, case studies, legal and policy perspectives, and much more. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the LGBT Health website.

About the Publisher

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Advances in assisted reproduction create more options and new legal issues for LGBT couples

Business News of Thursday, 31 July 2014

Source: Graphic Online

Two Ghanaian research scientists made a case for Ghana to adopt genetic engineering (GE) or genetically modified organisms (GMOs) instead of sticking to the conventional method of breeding.

While agreeing that conventional plant breeding had been going on for hundreds of years and had dramatically increased the productivity and quality of plants for food, feed and fibre, they maintained that it could no longer be sustained.

At the opening of a three-day symposium, organised by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) on GMOs last Monday, Dr Ibrahim Dzido Kwasi Atokple, a researcher at the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (SARI), Tamale, said Conventional breeding is the basis, but with that alone we cannot make progress.

According to Dr Atokple, practising conventional breeding could no longer be done exclusively, in view of the population explosion and developments that are taking up the arable lands. So we need to combine all biotechnological tools to increase the productivity of the few lands that are left.

He said although the USA depended on hybrids for maize till the 1990s, the trend changed for more improved yields by adopting GMOs (inserting genes to improve yields and make maize more tolerant to insects).

In any case, we started eating GM maize from 1996 till today, he said, adding that although there had been a few success stories in Ghana, the country could do better. Almost all the improved varieties grown in Ghana are from conventional breeding but we cannot continue to do this.

We need to adopt the modern plant breeding strategies and multi-disciplinary and co-ordinated process where a large number of tools and elements of conventional breeding techniques, bioinformatics, molecular genetics, molecular biology and genetic engineering are utilised and integrated to overcome the vagaries of the environment, with respect to climate change, soil degradation and increasing biotic factors, he stated.

Dr Atokple, who is credited with introducing varieties of Maruka-resistant cowpea (beans) and rice, said it even became more imperative to employ GMO breeding because it was a faster, less laborious and more efficient way to improve crop yields.

Read more:
Scientists push for GMO adoption in Ghana

Field trials of 15 genetically modified crop, widely known as GM crop may be delayed after Swadeshi Jagran Manch(SJM) and Bharatiya Kisan Sangh(BKS) raised serious objection about the feasibility of the whole process. The biotech regulator, Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) on July 18 had given its nod for field trails of number of GM crops including rice, mustard and cotton. Both, SJM and BKS are the two wings of RSS, BJP's parental organisation. A delegation of the organisation on Tuesday met Union Environment and Forests Minister Prakash Javadekar regarding the issue and expressed their concern about the long term impact of GM crops on human health and soil. Meanwhile, the Environment Minister has assured them that no decision will be taken in hurry. "We will not rush into it. We will hold consultations with the stakeholders before taking any decision", Javadekar said.

Here is the whole issue in detail.

What is the GM crop? That crop in which original genetic make-up is artificially changed through genetic engineering method is called GM crops. The purpose of the modification is to introduce new traits which were not available in original genetic set up. These crops are also known as transgenic crops. The new introduced traits help in providing resistance against certain diseases and other environmental conditions thereby increases productivity of particular crops. At present, Bt Cotton is the only GM crop which has been allowed to be grown commercially in India.

What is the take of anti-GM crop people? They believe that these crops might pose risks to the environment and human health. Rejects the perception that farmers will be largely be benefitted with the move. This group of people maintains that, it will encourage the monopoly of agri-biotech companies through seed marketing. Our own farmers have to cough up more money every year to buy fresh seeds as these patented GM one have a limited life span of one year only.

What pro-GM crop people are saying? These people have this opinion that such crops would rejuvenate agricultural productivity which will ultimately lead to food security. This group ourightly rejects the report that such crops have any adverse effect on human health and environment

What Supreme Court had said? The Supreme Court in its decision (April, 2014) had sought an answer from the Central Government on the same. The Court had asked from Centre, why there should not be an interim suspension of field trials of these GM crops as experts are largely going against it. The Court said, "We have reports of responsible persons who occupy responsible positions. Don't you think there should be an interim order (against open field trials) till we hear this case?" Earlier in July 2013, the SC appointed committee had recommended an indefinite halt on field trials of such crops till the government fixes regulatory and safety aspects regarding the issue.

What was UPA's stand? Erstwhile Government had maintained perplexing stand on the controversial issue during its tenure. While former Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan was against the GM crops, her successor M Veerappa Moily favoured the same. According to the DNA report, during Moily's tenure (2013-14), around 60 proposals of field trials for these GM crops were cleared by GEAC.

Story first published: Wednesday, July 30, 2014, 12:46 [IST]

Read more here:
Why RSS up in arms against genetically modified (GM) crops?

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

30-Jul-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ruehle kruehle@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, July 30, 2014We have pills to ease pain, to cure infection, to help us lose weight, to treat chronic conditions, and to enhance our sexual and athletic prowess. Why do pills play such a central role in today's society and could we benefit from taking fewer pills? This provocative topic is explored in the article "'Take Your Pill': The Role and Fantasy of Pills in Modern Medicine," published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine website.

Coauthors Drew Leder, MD, PhD, Loyola University (Baltimore, MD) and Mitchell Krucoff, MD, Duke University Medical Center (Durham, NC), discuss why pills are such "ideal consumer items" and offer the promise to solve so many of life's problems. They describe some of the adverse effects of pill-taking and of the "exaggerated cultural fantasy" surrounding pills in modern medicine. While many pills offer important therapeutic effects, they should be used more selectively, suggest the authors, and viewed as a "gift."

"As a healing construct pills concentrate both biochemical and symbolic power," says Dr. Krucoff, an Executive Editor of the Journal, "however like most powerful things, their place in modern culture can be unbalanced when the healing context is subverted by priorities like financial gain."

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About the Journal

The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine is a monthly peer-reviewed journal publishing observational, clinical, and scientific reports and commentary intended to help healthcare professionals and scientists evaluate and integrate therapies into patient care protocols and research strategies. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine website.

About the Publisher

See original here:
The promise and profits driving our pill-popping culture

A powerful new tool that can help advance the genetic engineering of "fuel" crops for clean, green and renewable bioenergy, has been developed by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), a multi-institutional partnership led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). The JBEI researchers have developed an assay that enables scientists to identify and characterize the function of nucleotide sugar transporters, critical components in the biosynthesis of plant cell walls.

"Our unique assay enabled us to analyze nucleotide sugar transporter activities in Arabidopsis and characterize a family of six nucleotide sugar transporters that has never before been described," says Henrik Scheller, the leader of JBEI's Feedstocks Division and a leading authority on cell wall biosynthesis. "Our method should enable rapid progress to be made in determining the functional role of nucleotide sugar transporters in plants and other organisms, which is very important for the metabolic engineering of cell walls."

Scheller is the corresponding author, along with Ariel Orellana at the Universidad Andrs Bello, Santiago, Chile, of a paper describing this research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The paper is titled "The Golgi localized bifunctional UDP-rhamnose/UDP-galactose transporter family of Arabidopsis." The lead authors are Carsten Rautengarten and Berit Ebert, both of whom hold appointments with JBEI, and both of whom, like Scheller, also hold appointments with Berkeley Lab's Physical Biosciences Division. (See below for the full list of co-authors.)

The sugars in plant biomass represent an enormous potential source of environmentally benign energy if they can be converted into transportation fuels -- gasoline, diesel and jet fuel -- in a manner that is economically competitive with petroleum-based fuels. One of the keys to success in this effort will be to engineer fuel crops whose cells walls have been optimized for sugar content.

(From left) Berit Ebert, Carsten Rautengarten and Henrik Scheller at JBEI have developed an assay for characterizing the functions of nucleotide sugar transporters in plant cell walls. (Photo by Irina Silva, JBEI)

With the exception of cellulose and callose, the complex polysaccharide sugars in plant cell walls are synthesized in the Golgi apparatus by enzymes called glycosyltransferases. These polysaccharides are assembled from substrates of simple nucleotide sugars which are transported into the Golgi apparatus from the cytosol, the gel-like liquid that fills a plant cell's cytoplasm. Despite their importance, few plant nucleotide sugar transporters have been functionally characterized at the molecular level. A big part of the holdup has been a lack of substrates that are necessary to carry out such characterizations.

"Substrates of mammalian nucleotide sugar transporters are commercially available because of the medical interest but have not been available for plants, which made it difficult to study both nucleotide sugar transporters and glycosyltransferases," Scheller says.

For their assay, Scheller, Rautengarten, Ebert and their collaborators, created several artificial substrates for nucleotide sugar transporters, then reconstituted the transporters into liposomes for analysis with mass spectrometry. The researchers used this technique to characterize the functions of the six new nucleotide sugar transporters they identified in Arabidopsis, a relative of mustard that serves as a model plant for research in advanced biofuels.

"We found that these six new nucleotide sugar transporters are bispecific, which is a surprise since the two substrates are not very similar from a physical standpoint to the human eye," Scheller says. "We also found that limiting substrate availability has different effects on different polysaccharide products, which suggests that cell wall polysaccharide biosynthesis in the Golgi apparatus of plants is also regulated by substrate transport mechanisms."

In addition to these six nucleotide sugar transporters, the assay was used to characterize the functions of 20 other transporters, the details of which will soon be published.

More:
How sweet it is: Bioenergy advanced by new tool